Chinese 3 - Beyond Calligraphy

Kanji: 糸

By Ponte Ryūrui / 01/02/2012 /

To understand the reasoning behind this classification one needs to look at the old form of the character 糸, which is 絲. 絲 is a combination of two

Kanji: 四

By Ponte Ryūrui / 25/01/2012 /

However, the modern shape of the character 四 has no ancient forms. The oldest form of this character is found on two of the ten stones of the Sekkobun . The

Kanji: 子

By Ponte Ryūrui / 19/01/2012 /

子 is believed to be ruled by the water element (one of the four elements of nature that define the Chinese zodiac, and those are: 木 {pinyin: mù, i.e.

When the Mind Soars, the Brush Dances: calligraphy research meetings

By Ponte Ryūrui / 14/01/2012 /

Those of us who choose the path of Sho (書, しょ, i.e. “to write”; here: “East Asian calligraphy”) study calligraphy all of their lives, not to become

Kanji: 山

By Ponte Ryūrui / 11/01/2012 /

The sound and secondary meanings of the character 山 are strongly related to ancient Chinese myths. In “Explaining Simple (Characters) and

The Sun of Vast Skies – a calligraphy seal. Part II

By Ponte Ryūrui / 09/01/2012 /

The art of seal pressing is a vital part of both calligraphy and ink-painting. Without knowledge of how and what kind of seal to press, one can never be

Kanji: 三

By Ponte Ryūrui / 04/01/2012 /

三 is also closely related to the divinatory system of 64 hexagrams, introduced in the Book of Changes, also known as Five Classics (易経, pinyin: Yì jīng) whose

Kanji: 校

By Ponte Ryūrui / 24/12/2011 /

校 consists of two main radicals, which are 木 (き, ki, i.e. “wood”) and 交 (こう, kō, i.e. “mingle”, “mixing”). 木 is a pictograph of a tree, whereas 交 is the